


All of the Things We Had

by ShowMeAHero



Series: Babies, Blood Oaths, and Other Mistakes [2]
Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies), Thor - All Media Types
Genre: Accidental Baby Acquisition, Brotherly Bonding, Brotherly Love, Brothers, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff, Gen, Humor, Kid Fic, Light Angst, Magic, Mild Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-25
Updated: 2017-11-25
Packaged: 2019-02-06 19:15:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,960
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12824244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShowMeAHero/pseuds/ShowMeAHero
Summary: Loki knows nobody likes him, but he's hoping they'll like Frigga. Things go... moderately terribly.





	All of the Things We Had

**Author's Note:**

> Lauryn wanted this to be a series, so this is for you.
> 
> Title pulled from "[Sorry](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4bwGqfUst30)" by Halsey.

Loki: hidden Jotunn, prince of Asgard (or what was left of it), brother to the king, guardian of the heir, and most hated person possibly on the planet Earth. He wondered if the Asgardians had ever actually liked him very much, but now it was fairly obvious. He had done enough to the Asgardians that they seemed very much to distrust him, while the Midgardians native to Earth just outright hated him.

It made life fairly difficult, in the best of times.

A living hell, in the worst.

“Thor, I’m telling you,” Loki said, halfway through strapping Frigga to his chest. She buried her face in his black sweater, rubbing her cheek on the soft material. “You should be the one going out. I should probably never go out again. Ever.”

“A couple of bullets and suddenly you’re hiding,” Thor replied, drifting to Loki’s back to help him fix the knot on the sling. “The Loki _I_ knew would never hide in his chambers.”

“The Loki _you_ knew was at least tolerated by his community,” Loki reminded him. He adjusted Frigga’s head so it stopped listing to the side. “People can hardly stand to look at me now.”

“Maybe you should stop dressing like a necromancer,” Thor commented. He stepped back. Loki scowled at him. “Look, just because you’re Jotunn doesn’t mean you have to dress like a goblin. Or frown at people. Or-”

“I get it,” Loki said. He looked down at Frigga, who stared right back up at him, then smiled. Loki sighed. She reached up and patted his cheek gently; he felt his skin grow hot under her touch. “Thor? What is she doing?”

Thor stepped up beside Loki and laughed. “She burned your face!”

“She burned my- Wait, she _what?”_ Loki asked, spinning around to duck down and look into the mirror while Frigga laughed delightedly. Sure enough, there was a baby-palm-sized burn mark on the side of his face. “Oh, no.”

“Oh, no, what?” Thor asked. “That’s hilarious! It looks like you got slapped by a baby. That’s good-”

“No, it’s ‘oh, no, this child has magic,’” Loki interrupted. Thor, still standing behind him, made eye contact with him in the mirror.

“We already knew she had magic,” Thor reminded him. “She sent you those gross winds or whatever so we’d find her.”

“But she has _magic-magic,”_ Loki told him. Thor just looked baffled. “She can conjure it. It’s subject to her whims.”

“Ah,” Thor said. He glanced down at Frigga, who stared back up at him. She smiled at him, too. “Well, what’re you going to do.”

Loki turned and glared at him. He could feel just a twinge of excitement for his own selfish reasons: he could teach Frigga the magic his own mother, her namesake, taught him, so long ago. Someone more like him. Someone who might just understand.

It was exciting, but also buried under a very real fear.

“Magic like this, Thor,” Loki said, then paused. “Being raised by me-”

“Oh, this again,” Thor said, sitting down heavily in the armchair behind him. Loki continued to glare at him. “Loki, people don’t hate you as much as you think they do.”

“You said it yourself,” Loki said. “The Midgardians hate me-”

“Of course they do,” Thor interrupted. “You tried to make them your slaves.”

“Not my _slaves,”_ Loki said. “Just… My people. I wanted to rule them, not… enslave them, or whatever you think.”

“‘Or whatever,’” Thor echoed.

“They were the only people you cared about,” Loki said. “Why wouldn’t I want to rule them?”

The two of them stared at each other for a bit. Frigga tipped her head back and exhaled softly, a bit of smoke coming out of her mouth. Loki glanced down at her, incredulous.

“And anyways,” Loki continued, “the Asgardians hate me, too.”

“Well-”

“Well, like you said,” Loki went on, “I left Odin on Earth, even if it _wasn’t_ to die, and released the Goddess of Death. It’s basically my fault we’re here.”

“You didn’t leave Odin to die?” Thor asked. Loki furrowed his brow.

“No,” he said. “Why would I leave him to die? I’m the god of _lies,_ Thor. Tricks and chaos and all that. I’m not the god of death and destruction.”

“Ah,” Thor said. “Well, that makes sense.”

“I faked my own death,” Loki reminded him.

“Try it again!” Thor suggested, grinning. “Maybe it’ll work this time. It worked well enough last time.”

“Thor,” Loki warned. Thor stood, dropping his hands onto his brother’s shoulders. Frigga stared up at them both, enraptured.

“Look, Loki,” Thor said, staring hard into Loki’s face. “You made some mistakes. We all do.” Loki snorted. “Well, we do. Do you not recall me being exiled just a few years ago?”

“You were exiled so you’d realize your potential,” Loki reminded him. “And _I_ was imprisoned for attempting to rule Midgard.”

“See? We all make mistakes,” Thor repeated. “So, raising her? It’s going to be fine. Training her with magic? Easy. No problem. We’re gonna do fine.”

“Everyone still hates me,” Loki pointed out. Thor squeezed his shoulders.

“Of course they do,” Thor said. “You summoned the Goddess of Death.”

“I didn’t _really_ summon her,” Loki said. Thor clapped his shoulders and released him.

“But in a way, you did,” Thor said, and Loki’s response was cut off by a knock at the door.

“Hey, are we going to the marketplace or what?” Bruce asked, sticking his head in. “Tony’s driving me insane and I want to leave.”

“See? Some people don’t hate you,” Thor said to Loki. Loki glanced at Bruce, then back to Thor.

“He didn’t say anything about not hating me,” Loki said.

“Yeah, I do kind of hate him,” Bruce commented. Thor sighed.

“Bruce, I was winking at you,” Thor said. “You’re supposed to agree with me.”

“Was that a wink?” Bruce asked. “I thought you had something in your eye.”

“Can we just go?” Loki asked. Bruce glanced at him and frowned.

“Did you get slapped by the baby?” Bruce asked, and Thor boomed with laughter.

“He did,” Thor said, throwing an arm around Loki’s shoulders and dragging him out the door. “He did get slapped by the baby.”

“Are we leaving?” Bucky asked, pushing away from the wall he had been leaning against. He tucked a gun into his waistband. “Finally.”

“What could you possibly need a gun for?” Clint asked, rounding the corner. “We’re going to the marketplace, not a firefight.”

“You never know when something’s going to become a firefight,” Bucky commented. He lifted his pant leg to reveal a long blade strapped to his calf. “Or hand-to-hand combat.”

“I certainly hope it doesn’t come to that,” Loki commented. Bucky glanced at him, brow furrowed.

“Did you get slapped by a baby?” Bucky asked, and Thor doubled over laughing.

“Let’s go,” Thor said. “I want to find something with a color for Loki to wear.”

“This looks fine,” Loki argued. Clint laughed.

“Yeah, if you’re a witch,” Clint said. Thor motioned to him as if to say, _See?,_ and Loki just huffed and kept going. He glanced down at Frigga, examining their blood bond to make sure she was content. Thor turned back to him.

“She’s fine,” Thor said. “Stop messing around with the bond.”

“I’m just checking in,” Loki told him. Once they got to the front door, Loki hesitated. “Ahh. Hmm. I don’t know. Maybe we should-”

“Oh, for Christ’s sake,” Bucky said, reaching in and lifting Frigga away from Loki before Loki could respond. Loki glared at him.

“Give her back,” Loki thundered. Bucky just tucked Frigga against his metal arm and shoved the front door open, Clint pushing Loki outside.

“I’ve wanted to do this for a long time,” Clint said, shoving Loki again before prodding him along the path. Loki swatted him away.

“You’ve earned this,” Bruce commented. Loki just scowled at him. He reached around Bucky and snatched Frigga back, slipping her back into her sling.

“You have friends now, Loki,” Thor said. “This is what friendship is like.”

“This is _not_ friendship,” Loki replied.

“How would you know?” Thor asked. Loki glanced at him. “The only friend you’ve ever had is me.”

Loki opened his mouth, then closed it again.

“That’s cold,” Clint commented. Bruce nodded.

“It’s true,” Thor said defensively. Loki glanced down at Frigga.

“His only friend is his brother?” Bucky asked Bruce in a low tone. Loki glared at him, but Bucky didn’t pay him any mind. Loki fell silent, keeping his attention on Frigga semi-permanently, wondering if he could just look at her for the rest of his life until he died. Then, nobody would ever have to make eye contact with him again, and feel the need to speak to him.

The marketplace was as Loki expected: dead silent, the second people saw him.

“I’m just going to go back,” Loki said, turning to leave when he passed by the third silent, staring stall of people, all of them stopping their conversations to watch him go by. Thor grabbed him by the collar of his sweater and yanked him back over.

“You’re not going anywhere,” Thor told him, dragging him back over. Frigga laughed, delighted, reaching up for Thor’s hand. Thor let her hold onto his finger as they walked. “See? How could you take her away? She loves it here.”

Truly, Frigga did seem to love it there, and people seemed to love her. Anyone who wasn’t too busy glaring at Loki seemed to be offering little smiles and waves to Frigga, who basked in the attention like a cat in the sun.

“Then you take her around,” Loki said, ignoring the stab of discomfort in his brain as he lifted Frigga out of her sling and held her out to Thor. She turned back around, starting to whine when Thor took her away. She reached for Loki, the whines edging towards full-blown cries.

“Jesus, she’s the only person who actually likes you,” Clint commented. Frigga screamed, sending a burst of flame out of one of her hands. Everyone froze. Then, Loki reached out and snatched her back, cradling her to his chest as she sobbed.

“What the hell was that?” Bucky demanded, gun already drawn. Thor lifted the gun out of his hand and snapped it in half.

“Don’t point guns at our daughter, please,” Thor said.

“Oh, don’t call her that, that’s gross,” Bruce said. Thor raised an eyebrow at him.

“Midgardians have such strange feelings,” Thor commented. “Your families must be very disjointed.”

“I don’t have a family,” Bruce said.

“It shows,” Thor replied. He moved to stand over Loki. “Is she alright?”

“She’s panicked,” Loki said, touching one ice-cold hand to her palm. She looked at his fingertips, then reached for them, wrapping tiny hands around two blue fingers. Her sobs started to quiet a bit, though tears kept streaming down her face.

“Uhh, Thor?” Bruce asked, turning around. Loki looked up at the same time Thor did, to find the same sight: everyone in the marketplace staring at them, some with fear, some with disgust, some with plain shock.

“Oh, Christ,” Clint said. “She’s just a kid, she doesn’t know any better.”

Loki glanced back down at Frigga, at her red face and shaking hands, the tears falling from her swollen eyes. He held her close with one arm and wiggled his other hand free from her grip, lifting it into the air and summoning a shard of ice. She sniffled, looking intently at the ice chunk, then back to him.

“See?” Loki said. “Not scary. I do it, too.” He handed her the ice, and she took it, holding it between two red hands. It started to melt slightly, and she looked up at him, panicked. He touched it and the shape of the ice filled back out. He looked up to see people still staring, dozens of Asgardians quiet and watching him.

“What?” Loki demanded. “What? Does anyone have something to say?”

One person shook his head. Everybody else stared.

“If you have anything to say, say it to my face,” Loki said, loudly. He could feel himself getting flushed, but felt unable to stop. “Please. Go ahead.”

Silence.

“I’m going home,” Loki said, in a more hushed tone to Thor, who let him pass and turn back down the path they had come.

“If anyone has any grievances about the prince or the princess, please, speak up,” Thor boomed. Loki could see clouds gathering overhead. “The King will now hear your complaints.”

Loki just picked up his pace, keeping Frigga held tight to his chest as he reentered the home he and Thor had been occupying with Thor’s coworkers. He slammed the door shut behind him and leaned against it, exhaling slowly. Frigga held up her hands; she was wet, covered in melted water from the ice.

“Oh, I’m sorry,” Loki said, lifting her up and sliding her out of her clothes. “I forgot. I didn’t mean to.”

Frigga still couldn’t speak yet, but seemed in a forgiving mood as she smiled and reached up to tug on his hair, wrapping it up in one fist. Loki briefly considered pulling her away, in case she lit the ends of his hair on fire, but settled for taking her into his living quarters, sitting against the head of his bed, and just holding her close while she threaded her fingers through his hair.

“I won’t bring you out there again,” Loki told her. “Thor will bring you. He’s much safer.”

“Mm,” Frigga hummed, softly, before making a quiet murmuring sound. Loki reached for his bond with her, but found her substantially calmer. Thor, on the other hand, seemed to be on his way back to their building and raging. He heard the front door slam open only moments later.

“Loki?” Thor called. Loki sent one of his doubles out to stand in the doorway and beckon Thor forward, only to vanish a second later. Thor skid into the doorway just after that. “Are you okay? Is she alright?”

“She’s fine,” Loki said. He lifted her up, as if trying to prove it. “Much calmer.”

Thor came to sit beside Loki on the bed, taking Frigga when she was offered to him. She seemed pleased to see him again, grabbing for one of the leather bracelets on his wrist to shove into her mouth.

“I’m sorry,” Thor said.

“I _told_ you they weren’t ready to see me,” Loki replied. “It’s best if I don’t go out with her anymore.”

“What?” Thor asked. “Loki, no. That’s not what I’m sorry for. They have to get used to you again, and to her. I’m just sorry I didn’t defend her better.”

“Defend her better?” Loki echoed, confused. “You defended her fine.”

“Defend you, then,” Thor amended. They looked at each other, both seeming not to know exactly what they needed to say. “And for saying you don’t have any friends. Or never had any friends.”

“Ah,” Loki replied, looking down at his crossed legs. “Well, it was true.”

“It’s not true,” Thor said.

“It is.” Loki glanced back up at him. "You were right. I haven’t had any friends except you.”

“Well, who needs friends except me?” Thor asked. “I’m the best friend there is.”

“You’re my _brother,”_ Loki reminded him. Thor snorted.

“You’re still a lot to put up with,” Thor said. “I think I deserve recognition for being your brother _and_ your friend.”

Loki stared at him for a moment longer, then smiled. He glanced down at Frigga to hide it. “She’s quite powerful.”

“We’ll have to work on it,” Thor said. Loki looked at him. “Controlling it, I mean.”

“She didn’t deserve those looks,” Loki said. “That’s just-”

“It was wrong,” Thor said. “I let them know it. They’ll grow to understand her. They just don’t…”

“They don’t trust _me,”_ Loki said. “It has nothing to do with her. It’s me they don’t trust.”

“You’ll earn their trust back,” Thor assured him. He set Frigga back in Loki’s lap. “If she trusts you, then, hey. You’ve earned that much.”

“She’s a child.”

“Children are the most difficult of all,” Thor said. “You have to earn their trust and respect. They act on instinct.” Thor motioned to Frigga. “She loves you, more than anyone else.”

“Oh, I don’t-”

“I do,” Thor said. “She does. You’re her favorite. You saw her in the square, when you tried to pass her off. She doesn’t want to be apart from you.” Thor reached out, tracing the line of Frigga’s eyebrows, sliding down to the curve of her mouth. She smiled. “She reminds me of you, a bit.”

“Does she?” Loki asked. Thor nodded.

“And you remind me of Mother,” Thor said. Loki glared at him. “The relationship, I mean. Between you.” Thor kept looking down at Frigga. “You and Mother had a special bond. I never quite understood it.”

“Neither did I,” Loki said. The two of them sat in silence for a bit.

“Well,” Thor said. “Now you’ve got two friends, anyways.” He motioned between himself and Frigga. “And I’m sure the Avengers want to be your friends.”

“I’m quite sure they don’t,” Loki commented. Thor shrugged.

“I’m only really friends with a couple of them, anyways,” Thor said. Loki smiled, looking back down at Frigga. “Really. It’s going to be alright.”

“If you say so, you oaf,” Loki said. Thor just mussed his hair and stood.

“Well, I’m going to go fix the hole I punched in the wall,” Thor said, before he ghosted out of the room. Loki glanced down at Frigga, who stared right back.

“What are you looking at? He’s _your_ father,” Loki said. Frigga just smiled.

**Author's Note:**

> I have a blog now to request imagines - I just like to make people happy. Submit requests [here!](https://imagine-in-the-fandoms.tumblr.com/ask)
> 
> I also actually wrote a book. It was a long road but, I did it! Ta-da! It's about two young ladies who hunt aliens and fall in love. If you want to read it, shoot me a message!
> 
> You can follow me on Twitter at [@nicoIodeon](https://twitter.com/nicoIodeon) or on Tumblr at [andillwriteyouatragedy](http://andillwriteyouatragedy.tumblr.com/).


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